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Manaka. Come to the woods past the National Park.

- Walter

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After sending the message, Walter waited with Darkness perched on his shoulder. He exhaled the breath he had been holding, letting Darkness fuss over his hair for once.

[The message is unexpected, but its timing works out well. Manaka hadn't purchased any gifts for Christmas... But for the people she likes, there is something she wants to give them for the upcoming new year.]

Got it! I'll be there soon o(^▽^)o

With the ride pager, it didn't take her long to arrive. Walter's message had been terse and not particularly informative, so she didn't know what to expect when she approached him. Nonetheless, she had dressed nicely, in the clothes she wore about town rather than in her sturdier traveling set, with a light bag slung over her shoulder.

"Is there something you called me here for?"

Edited 2016-12-30 00:34 (UTC)

Walter nodded to her, Darkness giving her a secretive smile. Walter held his hands together as he spoke, unintentionally adding tot he air of mystery about this encounter.

"You gave me Psyche, a while ago now. I...didn't know how to repay your kindness. But it seems people are giving each other gifts this time of year," Even if he didn't deserve their gifts and couldn't understand why they were giving them to him. "And a...situation has arised."

He turned to Darkness, who snickered behind a wing. At Walter's serious look and nod, Darkness gave a loud, deep cry. For a few minutes there was quiet as Walter turned his head to the sky. But soon, there was the flapping of wings and a flock of Murkrow descended upon them. The bird roosted in the trees or fluttered to land where they could on Walter, chirping happy greetings to him and to Darkness. The man lifted his hand, offering it as a perch for one of the flock.

"These are Darkness' children. Choose one. You may keep it."

Manaka listened in silence as he explained. Most of what he said was straightforward enough, but—a situation? The silence that followed Darkness's cry only made her less sure of what to expect, eyes wide and owlish as she ran the possibilities through her mind. Even after all this time, the novelty of surprise hadn't faded, Manaka nearly holding her breath in anticipation.

As the flock finally appeared, she squeaked out a little "oh!" and clapped her hands together. When Walter spoke again, she turned her eyes back toward him.

"Eh? Really? Um, thank you very much!" Clasping her hands in front of her skirt, she bent forward in a grateful bow. The moment she straightened up again, though, she dashed past him, gaze swinging this way and that as she took stock of the assembled Murkrow.

The Murkrow were all quite young, a little smaller than fully grown. Some ook interest in Manaka, following her with dark eyes, while others were more interested in the other members of the flock, or Darkness, or even Walter. One thing they all shared in common was that they were immaculate in appearance, feathers preened and some dusted with glitter over their wings, belly or head.

Three opted to flutter down in front of Manaka, still watching her curiously. One began to preen itself, as if to make sure it was looking it's best. One puffed itself up to look as big as possible. The last swayed on the spot, tail feathers shaking from side to side.
"Trainer?" The swaying one asked.
"Trainer! Trainer!" The puffy one insisted, hopping from side to side excitedly.

The birds on Walter eagerly repeated the phrase and soon the flock was noisy caw'ing to each other, throwing in 'Trainer!' as they talked to themselves. Darkness seemed very proud of this development while Walter simply put up with it. He actually seemed very calm, surrounded by the Murkrows.

The three approaching her certainly made things easier. Manaka giggled at their antics, crouching down to look at them more closely where they had gathered in front of her. "I can't take all three of you, silly things! Um, let's see... Do—re—ni—shi—yo..."

Manaka worked her way through the line one by one, and in the end, her finger wound up on the middle bird. Smiling to herself, she then brought her hand forward to give it a playful poke on the tip of its beak.

"I guess you're it!" With that said, she glanced back to Walter, still smiling as she asked, "Mm, does it have a name?"

"I've given some of them names. You may name them whatever you want however." Thanks to his attention to details, Walter could tell some of the Murkrow apart. He looked over the puffed up Murkrow, who was now cheering and flapping it's wings while singing "Trainer, trainer, trainer!" It was slightly bigger than the rest. Ah, this was the one he had named Raven.

"You like to name things after candy or cookies... How about Snickerdoodle?" It was a relatively simple treat he had discovered in University and, despite the silly name, had grown to think of as a kind of luxury, comfort food. The Murkrow formerly known as Raven had no problem with this, too busy hopping around in excitement.

"Mm, but it seems right for you to be the one to pick it, doesn't it? Since I helped you choose Psyche's."

As she spoke, Manaka rose to her feet again. Her new Murkrow followed the movement, and Manaka let a little giggle slip as it hopped in a circuit around her feet.

"Oh, by the way!" She shifted the bag hanging from her shoulder in front of herself as she told him, "There's something I want to give you, too."

Darkness was so happy for his daughter. He made sure to flutter down by the pair she hadn't picked however and fuss over them, preening their feathers and tucking them under a wing.
"Be sure you treat her well. Darkness is stubborn about them." Walter forewarned her. He had seen the Honchkrow threaten and outright attack his other Pokemon for mistreatment of his children.

"For me? Again?" He looked utterly confused. Why would she give him another thing? He might have just given her a Pokemon but this was in turn for her giving him Psyche. They were equal now, right?

"Mm-hm!" As she spoke, she withdrew a plain cloth sleeve from her bag, offering it toward him. "I was planning to give it to you on New Years, but since you called me out here anyway, I thought it wouldn't hurt for you to get it a little early. It's a charm for happiness!"

Inside the sleeve, Walter would find a homemade omamori. The outside cloth was colored in plain, neutral tones — though funnily enough, with a pattern of feathers — and at the top, she had tied it with a white string.

"A charm? What do I do with it?" He looked it over, touching one of the feathers in the pattern. Ironically appropriate given the situation at hand. He was handling it delicately, worried of damaging it somehow. He was more familiar with 'charms' that had a use or had to be placed somewhere specific.

He swallowed. He didn't have anything else to give her. Although... He slipped his backpack off his shoulders and knelt down, rummaging through it.

"You can hang it to your room, or attach it to your bag. Just carrying it with you should attract its effects, but... I can't make ones that really work here, like I can at home." She shrugs a shoulder, then, unworried. "I guess it was a little silly to make it, but I thought it would be nice to do something."

Walter paused. He made a point attatching it to his bag. He didn't find anythng in his bag...but there was something he could offer. He called Darkness to him.

"Darkness. May I have a feather of yours?" Darkness considered his request thoughtfully, preening himself. Walter waited patiently. Finally, Darkness turned and dropped a stray feather from his beak, giving it to Walter.

"I can't make anything like that. But a crow's feather-" Darkness flapped his wings pointedly, cawing softly. "A Murkrow or Honchkrow feather," Walter corrected. Darkness nodded sagely and allowed Walter to continue, "symbolises skill and cunning. It's not...good luck or happiness but, they're good things to have." He held out the feather to her. Now they were even.

When she realized what he was doing, she laughed in surprise, her smile softening with an uncommon fondness. "Gifts aren't about being even, Walter. You don't need to give me anything back!"

But even so, when he offered the feather to her, she took it. It wouldn't be right to refuse a gift given to her in good faith. Clasping it in her hands as she braced them against her chest, she bowed toward him again. "Thank you very much!"

Walter smiled shyly. He had always remembered and treasured the one gift given to him when he had been alive, when he was young and homeless. He'd always wanted to return that kindness - which was why he'd chosen Eileen for such an important role in the 21 Sacraments ritual. As such he was going to take good care of the charm she had given him, just as he was with Psyche.

"I want to. You can make a charm from it." He was currently collecting feathers for a private project, but Manaka could probably use them for that.

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[ 31st December Text/Action! ]

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